Apparatus for bending sheet material



Oct. 11, 1932. w. B. MEGLITZ APPARATUS FOR SENDING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Aug. 11. 1930 llllll kllllllllllllll llllrl I xx x 1 a i Im j 7 /u 2/ meme on. 11; 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT oralce if WILLIAM B..KEGLI'1Z, OI BERLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOIB TO BROWN GOMPAKY OI BERLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE APPARATUS 1'03 BEN'DING SHEET Application filed August 11, 1930. Serial No. 474,881.

. portion of a-sample piece of sheet material.

While the mechanism can beemployed with E any flexible or semi-flexible material, it is v ofrubb'er to migrate more especially designed for use in testing artificial leather of the type which can be made by impregnating a loosely felted flufiy fibrous web with dispersed rubber, and coagulating the rubber within the body of the web in such a way that it is distributed therethrough with substantial uniformity. Owing to the tendency on the part of the globules v through the body'of the belt during the drying of the watery vehicle of the dispersion, care must be taken in the manufacture of such material to prevent the uneven distribution of the rubber through the sheet, since otherwise the rubber particles tend to collect at the surface of the sheet where the evaporation is most rapid so that the central plane of the sheet is liable to be impoverished. This results in a less desirable product for most purposes. In the commercial production of artificial leather of the type described, it is important to supply the article with substantially uniform physical characteristics so that thebgurchasers and users can rely on the pr not to act in a uniform manner under given treatment. Artificial leather of the type desscribed is particularly adapted for certain purposes such as the use in making inner soles for shoes. In connection with such uses, it is important to ascertain and keep track of the tendency of the material to curl at the edges. This may be determined by experimentally bending under standard conditions a marginal strip of a piece of material and observing the force required to bend the material through a given angle. Bymaking frequent tests on samples of the material as it comes from the machine on which it is manufactured, the uniformity of quality ofthe material may be frequent checked, and any adjustments in the machine or the material supplied thereto may be made from time to time to maintain the physical characteristics of the finished product substantially uniform.

According to the present invention a simple,

testing device is provided whereby a mar ginal area of a piece of material can be bent under standard conditions which can be repeated to furnish a significant indication of the comparative quality of a succession of samples. l

For a more complete understanding ofthe invention'reference may be had to'the description thereof which follows. and to the drawing'of which,- 1 a Figure 1 is a side elevation of mechanism embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same.-

Figure 3 IS a plan view of the same, partly in section on line 33 of Figure 1.

' Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

The testing devices illustrated by the drawing comprises a base or platform 10, from one end of which rises a support 11 by which a vertical guide member 12 is supported above the base 10. Theguide member 12 may be a channel piece with a U-shaped cross section, as shown in Figure 4, one side of the member being open to receive a vertical plunger 13. T reducefriction between this plunger and the guide member 12 to a minimum, ball bearings 14 and 15 may be employed adjacent to the upper and lower ends respectively of the guide member 12. These ball bearings may roll in suitable grooves 16 cut in the inner side faces of the guide mem-:

ber 12, and corresponding grooves 17 cut in the opposite sides of the plunger 13; The upper and lower ball bearings may be retained in. place by the use of suitable pins 20 which project through member 12 into the path of the balls. Thus the ball bearings 14 are retained near the upper end of the guide member 12, while the ball bearings 15 are retained near the lower end and thus the tendency on the part of the plunger to bind in this channel as a result of lateral thrust on the lower projecting end thereof is minimized. At the upper, end of the plunger 13 is a suitable platform 21 adapted to receive various weights for the purpose of pressing the plunger vertically downward. At the lower end of the plunger the side walls of the guide "is "a horizontal roll 22 which extends most of the way across the base to engage the -margi nal' portion of the sample-to be tested. Mounted on the base 1 0,is an anvil 25, con-- size may e c amped on the upper surface of the anv1l'25, as by a stiff bar 27 which may be held down by a air of knurled nuts 28 threaded on a pair 9 bolts 29 rising from the anvil 25. In order to make the conditions of each test uniform, the marginalportion of the piece of material'to be tested should project a given distance beyond the edge 26. To

this end a stop 31 may be mounted at a convenient point on the standard 11, this stop mounted a pair of blocks 50 each having a comprisin a hinged plate presenting an edge 32 paralle to the'edge 26 and capable of being swung up into the planeof the up 'er face of the anvil 25. The edge 32 is pre er ably long enough to be engaged by a considerable portion of the length of the edge of the material to be tested, so that the overhanging edge of the material is uniformly distantuirom the edge '26 of the anvil. As shown in Figure v1 the ed e 32 is arranged to position the abutting e ge of ma-terial in ;such"a"f way that the bottom of the roll 22 will meet the material just insideits outermost edge. v

A suitable indicator 35 is mounted on the anvil 25 toindicate the angle through which is bent the flap of material projecting out I over the bending edge 26. To cooperate with the indicator 35 a suitable scale 36 maybe provided on an endof the anvil to'show the,

magnitude of the angle of bend. The indicator 35 may be pivoted as at'37 and may be actuated-by a bell crank arm 38 in the form of a flat loop of'wire having a stretch extending across the apparatus just-below the lower surface of the projecting fla of material.

As the flap is bent down by t e roll 22, the

indicator 35 is'swung through an equal angle so that the angle of the bent flap may easily be noted on the scale 36.

- The anvil 25 is preferably adjustable toward and from the path of the roll 22 in orderto accommodate the apparatus for the testing of sheets of different thickness. To thisend a suitable slot 40 is provided in the base 10 to receive a downwardly projecting tenonAl on the bottom of the. anvil 25. The

anvilmay be firmly clamped in any position of adj ustment as by a bolt 42 extending upwardly into its lower portion and adapted tobe setup, so as to clamp the anvil firmly on a thesurface of the baselO.

,.'I n.'tes,ting material of a given thickness the anvil'lis'customarily bolted securely so as to be retained in a definite location on the base. If it is desired'to test material of a different thickness the may be loosened to perknurled head 44. The adjusting screw .43 may be conveniently anchored against axial motion as by a fixed bearing cap 47 mounted near the forward end of the base 10. I

A suitable micrometer scale 45 may be provided to cooperate with a fixed index 46 tofacilitate the proper settingpf the anvil for material of' any thickness within the capacity of the device. The anvil is preferably adjusted'so that the distance from the plane of its rear face to the vertical tangent to the roll 22 is equal to the thickness of the material to be tested plus about 5/1000 of an inch.

Directly below the axisof the roll 22 is '85 the anvil and rotatable as by a convenient- .In operating the device, the anvil 25 is 7' first adjusted as previouslydescribed in accordance with thethickness of the sheet material to be tested. The plunger 13 with the roll 22 and platform 21 is raised to its uppermost osition as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, and may be held thereby setting up on a convenient set screw 52 wh1ch passes through the side wall of the channel 12 and clamps the plunger 13. Thiskeeps the roll 22 out of the way during the' placing of the sample to be tested, and leaves both the operators hands free to adjust the sample in position. The

sample itself is of a standard size to ensure uniformity of testing conditions for a comparison of the quality between thesamples. The sample is lnserted beneath the bar 27 and its side edge is projected out-of the edge 26 of the anvil 25 until 1t engages-the edge 32' "of the stop 31 which has been swun into horizontal position as shown in dotte lines in Figure 1. The nuts 28 are then set ,up tight to clamp the sample firmly between the upper surface of the anvil 25 and the bar 27. The stop 31 is permitted to swing down out of the way and the plunger 13 is released by backing off the set screw 52 a portion of a turn. The plunger then descends until it is supported by the contact of the roll 22 with the margin of the sample of material projected beyond the edge 26. Increasing weights are then placed on the platform 21, the effect of the added weights being noted by the swing of the indicator 35. As the sample bends, it is evident that there will be a rearward thrust on the roll 22 and a lateral thrust on the plunger 13. The ball bearings 14 and 15 are so located that thethrust does not interfere with the free motion of the plunger.

.a straight horizontal ed The preferred method of use of the ap aratus is to increase the weight on the p atform 21 until the indicator reaches a desired scale mark. The samples can also bev tested by placing a predetermined weight on the platform 21 and observing the resulting angle of bend in the successive samples to be tested.

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the class described com prising a base, an anvil on said base having e, a roll, laterally spaced from said edge, t 1e axis of the roll being parallel to said edge, means for guiding said roll in a vertical path pastsaid edge, means for clamping a piece of sheet material to be tested on said anvil with a portion of said sheet projecting over said edge, and means for gauging the distance of projection of said sheet beyond the edge.

2. Apparatus for testing artificial leather and the like, which comprises a base, a horizpntal support having a straight bending edge on one side, means for clamping the work on said support, a stop member for regulatin g the distance of proj cction of the work beyond said edge, a movable contact member, means for guiding said contact member in a vertical path to engage the upper face of said projecting portion and to bend said portion downwardly on said bending edge, and means for-indicating the angle of bend of said projecting portion.

3. Apparatus for testing artificial leather '1 and the like, which comprises a member having a horizontal supporting surface for the work and a bending edge along one side of said surface, a stop member "for regulating the distance of projection of the Work beyond said bending edge, means for applying force to the portion of the'work projectlng beyond said edge to bend said portion downwardly, and means for indicating the angle of bend of said portion.

4. Apparatus for testing artificial leather and the like, which comprises a base, a standard on said base, a vertical guide supported by said standard above said base, a plunger vertically movable in said guide, a work-engaging member mounted on the lower end of said plunger and movable vertically there with, a work-support laterally offset from said plunger, means on said work-support for clamping the work in position for testing,

and means for adjustably moving the work support toward and from the path of said plunger.

5. Apparatus for testing artificial leather and the like, comprising a base, a standard on-said base, a vertical guide supported by said standard above said base, a plunger vertically'movable in said guide, an elongated roll horizontally supported on the lower end of said plunger, a platform to receive weights carried by said plunger, a work-supporting anvil mounted on said base and adjustable toward and from the path of said plunger, means for clamping the work on said anvil, a stop to facilitate positioning of the work on the anvil with a portion projecting into the vertical path of said plunger, and means for indicating the angle of bend of the projecting portion of the work.

In testimony whereof I signature.

have afii xed my WILLIAM B. MEGLITZ. 

